load English · revision 4370

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ang lād}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ləʊd/, US /loʊd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lode]], lade,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|lād|t=way, course, journey; carrying, support]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*laidō]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) also the source of Old High German leita and Old Norse leið “way, road, course”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*leyt-|alt=*leit-|t=to go forth]],^(Etymonline) and related to [[lead]] “to guide”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) Its meaning “burden” came from association with [[lade]] “to load”, to which it is not etymologically connected.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[Lode]] was at first another spelling of the same word.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English lād, a way or carrying, is from about 725, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988) The modern sense, that which is laid on a person, beast or vehicle to be carried, a burden: about 1200 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) before 1225 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 1250 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The older senses went with the spelling lode, and the spelling load is from the 16th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The quantity usually loaded at once is from about 1300.^(Etymonline) A burden on the mind is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) a quantity of drink taken from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and ''loads'', a great amount, from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The charge of a firearm is from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) In building, the pressure on a structure is from 1871,^(OED 1989) and in electricity the power a system delivers from 1888.^(OED 1989) ''Workload'' is from 1939.^(Etymonline) The verb, to put a load on, is from before 1470 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the late 15th century in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) to charge a firearm is from the 1620s,^(Etymonline) and of computer programs from 1977.^(Etymonline) ''Get a load of'', take a look at, is American, from 1929, in Damon Runyon,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''take a load off one's feet'' from 1914.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English lād, a way.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – a burden.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – a standard load.^(Etymonline)

+ * a. 1470 – verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 16th century – the spelling load.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – a burden on the mind.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – ''loads'', a lot.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1620s – to load a gun.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1871 – a load on a structure.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1929 – ''get a load of''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1977 – to load a program.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something carried, as by a vehicle, person or animal; a [[burden]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The amount that can be carried at one time: ''a truckload''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A weight or force supported by a structure.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something that weighs on the mind; a responsibility.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The amount of work expected of a person or machine.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The power delivered by an electrical system or device.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' ''loads'': a great amount.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put a load into or onto: ''load the truck''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To fill nearly to overflowing; to [[heap]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To weigh down; to burden.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To put ammunition into (a firearm), or film into a camera.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To transfer (a program or data) into a computer's memory.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[loader]]

+ * [[carbo-load]]

+ * [[reload]]

+ * [[preload]]

+ * [[underload]]

+ * [[unload]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[loaded]]

+ * [[lode]]

+ * [[lodestar]]

+ * [[lade]]

+ * [[lead]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}